China has officially overturned a 13-year ban on gaming consoles by allowing the production and sale of “gaming entertainment” in the newly created Shanghai Free Trade Zone. The official pronouncement by the State Council on Monday will open the way for foreign companies like Microsoft and Sony to sell their wares nationwide …

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Tuesday 7th January 2014 07:23 GMT Ralph B

Gold Farming

Why the change? Are the newer consoles better for gold farming?

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Tuesday 7th January 2014 14:32 GMT mark 63

fps

if you're playing a "bloody first person shooter" on a console you're doing it wrong. no mouse.

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1. Wednesday 8th January 2014 10:31 GMT Pascal Monett
  
  Seems like console players disagree with you.
  
  For me, there is no better combination than Microsoft Strategic Commander and mouse, preferably loaded with buttons as well.
  
  There are never enough buttons....
  
  <turns away muttering to himself>
  
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Tuesday 7th January 2014 16:52 GMT Anonymous Coward

I doubt there'll be much of a market

Pirated software rules in China - there isn't really any concept of copyright in a country where everyone is used to sharing and getting everyingthing from housing to education to hospitals for free. There's no money in the consoles - it's through games licenses that Sony and Microsoft get all their money.

When I was in China in 2005 I visited a 1,000 seat cyber cafe and it was full. It was full of people playing pretty much the same game and paying by the hour. The software company that wrote the game gave it away for free and home access (over the state run ISP) was paid for with scratch cards bought at convenience stores - rather like you pay for phone calls on pay as you go.

The reason why MMORPG's are popular (1 million concurrent on-line users is not uncommon on platforms such as "Journey to the West") apart from the collective culture is because companies - state and private - simply cannot make any money out of selling the software. Instead the the only business model that works is the subscription service model.

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